The Environmental Consequences of Urban Population Growth in the US and Asia
Hail Malthus!
Maddy Low
Brainstorming- November
An overpopulated world- consequences of increasing population- combating the causes/consequences of increasing global population, natural disasters and population control- combating the causes/consequences of increasing global population by looking to natural and human resources
Urbanization
Homogenization of culture- globalization and homogenization of culture- globalization and homogenization of culture widening the gap between "leavers" and "takers"
Religion- role of religion in 21st century life- future of religion in 21st century life- role of religion in politics in the 21st century
Water- water rights, trade and water traffic, future of the world's oceans, future of the world's coastal cities
The internet and learning- consequenses of a huge percentage of informed citizens
Dying languages/ cultural practices- what gets put in the place of a dead language or culture
Research Proposal- November
I’d like to research the differing environmental consequences of urban population growth between Asia and the United States.A possible thesis for my research could be: Increasing urban population has dire consequences for the global environment. Some parameters for my research would be assessment of consequences of urban population growth, and speculation on the effects of future population growth. Some questions I’d ask to facilitate my research would be: What resources does urban population growth strain? How are these different than the resources used by towns or villages? How does this differ between the US and Asia? Are cities more or less resource-efficient than villages and rural areas? How evenly (or unevenly) is the world’s population distributed? Are there any benefits to increasing urban population?
Source Checklist
Book- 2
Website (.org, .edu, .gov) -2
Substantive from Database -1
Scholarly from Database- 4
Nontraditional -7
What resources does urban population growth strain?
Land. Land that was once forest became farmland, which then was paved over due to urban and suburban sprawl
How are these different than those used by towns and villages?
How does this differ between the US and Asia?
Are cities more or less resource-efficient than villages and rural areas?
- Is using electricity more or less efficient (or harmful) to the environment that burning oil lamps? Is a tractor better for the environment than oxen?
- Possible conclusion: rural living contributes less to environmental harm, but cities (high rises, roof gardens) are as efficient as they can be with their limitations when it comes to sewage and transportation. Essentially, the entire world can't live on farms anymore. There is no more room, and with a population this large, resources would be depleted faster (is this statement true?)
How evenly is the world's population distributed?
Most of current population growth takes place in the world's poorest countries (4)
And there any benefits to increasing urban population?
What are the national implications of this international issue?
What are the international implications of this national issue?
December 27
I learned from the Population Institute website that the world's population has been growing exponentially for the past 100 years, and that nearly all this growth has taken place in poor and developing areas. It also says that this population growth is what leads to poverty and strains on the world's resources. Knowing that growth in poor areas of the world accounts for most population growth, and that growth in those regions is what strains resources most (because it accounts for nearly all total population growth), I wonder how big an impact population growth in first-world cities like Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, and Los Angeles actually has on the environment. I can speculate that there is more fuel use and therefore more waste per capita in the first world's cities, but I'm questioning how it measures up to the total damage due to all population growth, especially compared to rapidly developing but still relatively poor countries like India.
January 3
Today I read Jefrrey K. McKee's Sparing Nature. In it, he describes how urban and suburban sprawl diminish the biodiversity of a given area, namely because a growing population takes up space. He asserts that because all organisms need to take up some space to survive, human encroachment upon the natural amount of space taken by other organisms diminishes their populations and chances of survival. And we inadvertantly diminish the resources of our area by paving over what once used to be farmland that once was a natural forest. This all leads into his "Sparing Nature Thesis" (pg 10), which simply says that the more human populations expand, the more we push aside other organisms (and extinguish the surroundings they have adapted to). His second thesis is that "the most important conservation measure we can take is to slow or halt the growth of human population (12)." I had a feeling that this would end up as part of the stance of my paper.
Outline for Abstract
Shortened intro paragraph
Thesis at/near end, bold: Urban population growth has dire consequences for the global environment
Support Sections
Evidence of environmental effects of population growth
International aspect with relation to national, OR national aspect with relation to international
The Environmental Consequences of Urban Population Growth in the US and Asia
Hail Malthus!Maddy Low
Brainstorming- November
An overpopulated world- consequences of increasing population- combating the causes/consequences of increasing global population, natural disasters and population control- combating the causes/consequences of increasing global population by looking to natural and human resources
Urbanization
Homogenization of culture- globalization and homogenization of culture- globalization and homogenization of culture widening the gap between "leavers" and "takers"
Religion- role of religion in 21st century life- future of religion in 21st century life- role of religion in politics in the 21st century
Water- water rights, trade and water traffic, future of the world's oceans, future of the world's coastal cities
The internet and learning- consequenses of a huge percentage of informed citizens
Dying languages/ cultural practices- what gets put in the place of a dead language or culture
Research Proposal- November
I’d like to research the differing environmental consequences of urban population growth between Asia and the United States. A possible thesis for my research could be: Increasing urban population has dire consequences for the global environment. Some parameters for my research would be assessment of consequences of urban population growth, and speculation on the effects of future population growth. Some questions I’d ask to facilitate my research would be: What resources does urban population growth strain? How are these different than the resources used by towns or villages? How does this differ between the US and Asia? Are cities more or less resource-efficient than villages and rural areas? How evenly (or unevenly) is the world’s population distributed? Are there any benefits to increasing urban population?Possible Sources and Springboards for Thinking
TED Video: Steven Johnson on the Web as a City (1) -NontraditionalE.O. Wilson on Saving Life on Earth (2) -Nontraditional
Alex Steffen Sees a Sustainable Future (3) -Nontraditional
Population Institute (4)- Website
City Mayors article: Preparing to Deal with Urban Population Growth (5) - Nontraditional (.com)
MSN Chart: Urban Population Growth (6) -Nontraditional
Sparing Nature by Jeffrey K. McKee (7)- Book
Common Wealth by Jeffrey D. Sachs- Book
JSTOR: The Links between Poverty and the Environment in Urban Areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Links Between Environment and Poverty-JSTOR1.doc
JSTOR: China's Future Population and Development Challenges (1997) (8)- Scholarly Article from Database
JSTOR:
china urban rural pop control.pdf
- Details
- Download
- 532 KB
AC addiction.doc- non traditional
Website Examining all negative components of urban population growth: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/issues/urban.asp - website
Urbanization and Land Use (lists some positives for urban population- efficiency etc) http://www.iges.or.jp/en/ltp/pdf/APFED3_EM_doc5.pdf -Substantive from database?
Definitely Substantive from Database: New York and Shanghai
Source Checklist
Book- 2
Website (.org, .edu, .gov) -2
Substantive from Database -1
Scholarly from Database- 4
Nontraditional -7
What resources does urban population growth strain?
Land. Land that was once forest became farmland, which then was paved over due to urban and suburban sprawl
How are these different than those used by towns and villages?How does this differ between the US and Asia?
Are cities more or less resource-efficient than villages and rural areas?
- Is using electricity more or less efficient (or harmful) to the environment that burning oil lamps? Is a tractor better for the environment than oxen?
- Possible conclusion: rural living contributes less to environmental harm, but cities (high rises, roof gardens) are as efficient as they can be with their limitations when it comes to sewage and transportation. Essentially, the entire world can't live on farms anymore. There is no more room, and with a population this large, resources would be depleted faster (is this statement true?)
How evenly is the world's population distributed?
- Most of current population growth takes place in the world's poorest countries (4)
And there any benefits to increasing urban population?What are the national implications of this international issue?
What are the international implications of this national issue?
December 27
I learned from the Population Institute website that the world's population has been growing exponentially for the past 100 years, and that nearly all this growth has taken place in poor and developing areas. It also says that this population growth is what leads to poverty and strains on the world's resources. Knowing that growth in poor areas of the world accounts for most population growth, and that growth in those regions is what strains resources most (because it accounts for nearly all total population growth), I wonder how big an impact population growth in first-world cities like Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, and Los Angeles actually has on the environment. I can speculate that there is more fuel use and therefore more waste per capita in the first world's cities, but I'm questioning how it measures up to the total damage due to all population growth, especially compared to rapidly developing but still relatively poor countries like India.January 3
Today I read Jefrrey K. McKee's Sparing Nature. In it, he describes how urban and suburban sprawl diminish the biodiversity of a given area, namely because a growing population takes up space. He asserts that because all organisms need to take up some space to survive, human encroachment upon the natural amount of space taken by other organisms diminishes their populations and chances of survival. And we inadvertantly diminish the resources of our area by paving over what once used to be farmland that once was a natural forest. This all leads into his "Sparing Nature Thesis" (pg 10), which simply says that the more human populations expand, the more we push aside other organisms (and extinguish the surroundings they have adapted to). His second thesis is that "the most important conservation measure we can take is to slow or halt the growth of human population (12)." I had a feeling that this would end up as part of the stance of my paper.Outline for Abstract
Shortened intro paragraph- Thesis at/near end, bold: Urban population growth has dire consequences for the global environment
Support Sections